Posts by john neurohr

The Senate Republican tax plan would provide enormous, permanent tax cuts to high-income households and corporations – all while adding at least $1.5 trillion to the deficit. And to pay for its permanent tax cuts for corporations, the bill would raise taxes on many middle-income families and repeal the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, increasing the number of uninsured Pennsylvanians by 505,000 and raising individual market premiums nationwide by 10 percent.

Marc Stier, Director of the PA Budget and Policy Center, made the following statement on the current state of PA budget negotiations:

"If news reports are accurate, enough members of the House Republican caucus heard the voices of their constituents who contacted them in the last 24 hours to demand new recurring revenues to balance the budget in a responsible way.

Marc Stier, Director of the PA Budget and Policy Center, made the following statement following today's release of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report on the U.S. Senate GOP Health Care Bill (Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017)

It’s official — the Senate health care bill is not an improvement but actually worse for Americans than the House bill. The CBO analysis released today holds that 22 million fewer Americans will be insured in 2026 as a result of the Better Care Reconciliation Act. That is slightly better than the House bill.

Nearly 70 Pennsylvania organizations signed on to the letter below asking members of the Pennsylvania congressional delegation to reject inhumane cuts to vital federal government programs:

To The Pennsylvania Congressional Delegation:

President Trump’s budget features deep cuts in assistance that helps struggling families afford the basics – food on the table, a roof over their heads, and access to health care – as well as stunning cuts in a range of basic public services and investments in our nation, such as job training, K-12 education, access to college, scientific research, and economic development. At the same time, the President has called for massive tax cuts that will overwhelmingly benefit the wealthiest households and corporations.

Marc Stier, Director of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, made the following statement following the release of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scoring for the "American Health Care Act," the GOP House healthcare proposal:

The Congressional Budget Office released its evaluation of the Republican replacement for the Affordable Act (ACA), the American Health Care Act (AHCA) today and, not surprisingly, the news is grim for the nation, and by extrapolation, for Pennsylvania.

The first, and most important, aim of the Affordable Care Act was to reduce the number of uninsured Americans by means of two different policies. Americans with incomes too high to receive Medicaid but at or below 138% of the federal poverty line ($16,242 for a single individual and $33,465 for a family of four) can receive health insurance if their state expands Medicaid. Americans with incomes above 138% of the federal poverty line can purchase health insurance on a state or federally-run health care exchange, also known as a health care marketplace. Individuals and families with incomes up to 400% of the federal poverty line ($47,520 for a single individual and $97,200 for a family of four) are eligible to receive tax credits that reduce the costs of insurance purchased on the exchange. Those with lower incomes in this range are also eligible to receive cost-sharing reductions that limit their out of pocket health care costs.

In the wake of Budget Secretary Randy Albright’s mid-year budget briefing and the news that the Pennsylvania budget for 2016-17 will have a deficit of $600 million, the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center today released a new, comprehensive revenue proposal to address the looming deficit for FY 2017-18, which when combined with the deficit for this fiscal year, could approach $3 billion.

Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center Director Marc Stier made the following statement after the state Senate failed to vote for additional funding for the Department of Labor and Industry’s unemployment compensation call centers during its only scheduled post-election session day:

For years, having a bachelor’s degree was the key to unlocking jobs with rising wages. Up until 2000, male college graduates in Pennsylvania fared better than those without a four-year college degree when it came to increasing wages. Hourly earnings climbed for white and black men with at least a bachelor’s degree by 23 percent and 14 percent respectively between 1979-81 and 2000-02.